Connect with Leaders at CEG’s Premier Event

Connect with Capital Region business and civic leaders for exclusive insights into economic development, emerging industry trends, and meaningful networking.

Build an AI Co-Founder: Practical AI Tools Every Founder Can Deploy in 30 Days

Chloe Capital has partnered with Microsoft to help founders explore how AI can power growth. Join Amit Svarzenberg, ​CTO at Microsoft for Startups and AI & Cloud Expert, for a live demo on how to build your own AI Co-Founder, an intelligent assistant that can automate customer engagement, marketing, and analytics.

💡 You’ll Learn:

• How to use AI agents to scale faster and reach customers efficiently

• How to use Microsoft Azure to build and deploy an AI agent

November Lunch & Learn:

Inventor or CEO? What to Know Before You Begin

Can an inventor be a successful CEO? We'll delve into these two roles and the importance of distinguishing them for the health of a startup. This interactive session is geared toward researchers who are considering the next steps of commercializing their inventions/intellectual property and would like to know more about the characteristics that separate the two before taking the journey. 

Event attendees will: 

• Begin to understand the key differences between these roles and where overlap exists 

• Learn about cap tables and why equity matters 

• Learn about the dynamic and potential conflicts of interest 

• Understand the differences between running a lab and running a business   

Lunch will be served.

2025 Winners: Eben Bayer ’07 and Gavin McIntyre ’07.

Innovation is a significant part of RPI's storied past. The William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes successful entrepreneurs whose vision, commitment, and creativity exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit that is the past, present, and future of RPI.

Please join us in celebrating the 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year Award on Thursday November 6, 2025 @ 1 pm in RPI’s EMPAC Theater. Parking is available in the garage on College Avenue.

Awards ceremony, fireside chat with President Marty Schmidt, startup pitch competition, poster presentations, and networking.

Free and open to the public.

Held the day before the Innovation Summit, this meeting is for NYSTAR assets.

Learn from those who have been there, done that and came out the other side a little wiser about the startup journey! Our storytellers will share their scary moments as an entrepreneur and how they overcame their challenges. Have a story to share? Let us know on the registration form.

We’ll be hosted by The Innovation Center at Saratoga (no relation!) so come on up to Luther Forest in Malta. (You might even peep the fall foliage on your way in. 🍂)

Want to know why all startups should master the pivot?

Speaker Randy Stewart, who has run wildly successful startups, will share lessons learned from a $1 billion pivot. Come and talk to Randy and learn why the pivot is so important.

Where pigs can fly, there are no boundaries. Unleash your inner innovator.

Food and drinks served.

Day One: September 24, 2025 | Albany, NY | Half-Day Event + Happy Hour

​We are kicking off Climate Tech Week Upstate with an afternoon dedicated to innovation, investment, and collaboration, followed by a community happy hour.

​This half-day event will bring together founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders to spotlight the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of climate tech.

​Featured Speakers & Guests

• ​Dan Fitzgerald, Founder of Key Capture Energy

• ​Cullen Kasunic, Managing Partner, Solve: Resource and Energy Associates

• ​Bill Dailey, Standard Hydrogen Corp.

• ​Zack Pecenak, NY Ventures

• ​Bailey Burke, Hudson Valley Venture Hub

• ​Jack Nolan, Startup IQ

​Day Two: September 25, 2025 | New Climate Futures at Newlab (Brooklyn, NY)

​The morning after Albany, participants can hop on a highly subsidized round-trip bus ($36!) from Albany to Brooklyn to attend Newlab’s New Climate Futures event. This makes it easy for Upstate founders and partners to connect with the broader climate innovation ecosystem.

​

You’re invited to Shop Talk - a networking event at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity.

All the time, TVCOG hears some version of "I've looked in the windows, the COG looks really cool, but I have no idea what goes on in there." Here's a chance to find out!  

TVCOG is inviting a variety of local businesses & organizations for a behind-the-scenes look at the COG community, resources that might be of use, and how you can get involved.

Free coffee and breakfast snacks.

Startup Tech Valley’s first happy hour of the fall season!

How do you know there’s actually a market for your new product? Join this workshop to learn more about customer discovery tools for entrepreneurs developing physical products. We’ll cover market research basics, tips and tricks, and low-barrier prototyping tools to get you collecting data faster. You’ll also hear real-world examples from professional designers on how prototyping is used to determine final product specifications.

Tech Valley Center of Gravity is a makerspace & incubator that empowers makers to connect, collaborate, and create. Their fabrication shop is ideal for individuals and startups who need access to workspace and prototyping equipment in order to test new ideas and grow their business.

Dan Falkenstrom, Operations Director, has experience as a manufacturing engineer, and helps connect manufacturing startups with resources to overcome their roadblocks.

Ignite U, powered by NYSTEC, is a nonprofit dedicated to the sustainable development of New York by building specialized programming designed to support the economic and educational initiatives of New York State.

Diane Borghoff is a professional in assessing numerous early-stage products, services, processes, and techniques in various domains. Her career spans more than 15 years with expertise building business cases, marketing plans, mentoring Lean LaunchPad techniques and go-to-market strategies. These range from ideating creative, disruptive solutions and navigating intellectual property needs to shape their advancement into the marketplace.

Fun Stuff Design, led by Julian Goldman and Dierdre Shea, is a Troy-based industrial design studio. Their focus is on biomaterials and objects that endure, with experience in sustainable supply chain, product strategy, and product development.

Join the Venture Readiness team at the Center for Economic Growth (CEG), an incredible resource for entrepreneurs in our community, at this happy hour event!

This is always a great opportunity to connect with fellow founders, innovators, and builders in a casual, supportive environment. Complimentary appetizers will be provided; drinks are pay-as-you-go.

The startup world abounds with cautionary tales about going into business with friends, colleagues or family members. Starting a business with someone you know sounds fun but even the tightest of friendships can be undone by poorly executed agreements, if one is even created.  

No matter how you and your co-founders came together, a Founders’ Agreement provides a strong foundation on which to build your business while protecting each founder’s interests and cultivating a healthy working relationship.  

Richard Honen ’82, Partner at Philips Lytle LLP, will join us to answer your questions about founders’ agreements, such as:  

1. When do you need a founders’ agreement? 

2. What is the legal strength of these agreements?  

3. What are the components of a founders' agreement? 

Attendees are invited to submit their questions to innovationcenter@albany.edu. This presentation is for both new founders and already formed companies.  A Q&A will follow the presentation.  

Join MACNY for an engaging online seminar showcasing how Registered Apprenticeship can help employers address workforce needs and develop skilled talent from within.

Hear firsthand from Indium Corporation’s Jackie McDowell, Senior Manager of Human Resources, and
Software Developer Apprentice, Austin Eannace-Caro.

Whether you’re new to apprenticeship or looking to expand your program, this session will provide practical insights, real-world examples, and strategies you can put into action.

Presented by:

• Meredith O’Connell, Manager, Workforce Development,CEG

• Amy Stage, Director of Apprenticeship & Workforce Development, MACNY, The Manufacturers Association

• Rich Turner, Director of Workforce Development, RTMA

• Jackie McDowell, Senior Manager, Human Resources, Indium Corporation

• Austin Eannace-Caro, Software Developer Apprentice, Indium Corporation

This is a virtual event.

In coordination with RPI’s Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, join the Flying Pig Society for the annual kickoff event where all of the new programs, workshops, competitions, awards, and internship opportunities for the 2025-26 academic year will be introduced.

Join us in Buffalo on Wednesday, September 10 for AI in Healthcare 2.0: Opportunities, Challenges and Next Steps. We are pleased to partner with Business & Entrepreneur Partnerships | University at Buffalo on this state-wide summit as we tackle the biggest challenges in artificial intelligence and health – product integration, care delivery, and attracting investment. We’re bringing together leading voices from industry, hospital systems and the investor community for a day of problem solving and best practices. 

Panel discussions will include: 

Implementing  Artificial Intelligence into Healthcare Delivery Systems. We’re joined by leaders from regional hospital and health systems to discuss how their institutions are implementing AI into delivery systems to improve care and reduce costs.

Attracting Investment into AI Enhanced Products and Services. This panel of investment experts will discuss successful strategies for attracting investment to AI powered products and services.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Health Products and Treatments. Our panel of industry experts will discuss strategies for enhancing the power of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics through the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools.

Spotlight on Innovation. We’ll be joined by some of the region’s most exciting health product innovators who will discuss their technologies and how AI is transforming healthcare products and delivery.

Valuing the Intangible – Understanding Startup Valuation Beyond the Balance Sheet 

Early-stage startups often find themselves rich in intangible assets, which can make valuation a puzzle! Our discussion of valuation continues with Scott DeMarco, founder of Equitable Value LLC. Scott will help us unpack the critical elements that may not show up on a balance sheet but can impact a startup’s valuation.

We'll explore:

How intangible assets like IP, research, and industry affiliations are factored into valuation

The metrics and frameworks used to value patents and proprietary technologies

How founder contributions—beyond capital—play into equity and company value

What due diligence really looks like in early-stage company assessments

What signals (e.g. NDAs, customer agreements, university partnerships) contribute to perceived future potential

Whether you're preparing for a funding round, exploring strategic partnerships, or just trying to understand your company’s worth, you’ll leave this presentation with practical insights into how investors and valuation professionals approach the unique nature of innovation-driven startups.

About Scott:

Scott DeMarco, founder of Equitable Value, LLC, brings proven startup experience, having grown two software companies, AutoQuant Imaging, Inc. and Agora Games, Inc., both of which were successfully acquired. As CFO of Agora Games, he helped lead the company to a profitable exit to Major League Gaming. In addition to his entrepreneurial track record, Scott is a Certified Business Appraiser and Certified Valuation Analyst with extensive experience in valuing technology-driven startups. He has been appointed as an expert witness in court and has conducted hundreds of business appraisals involving IP, economic damages, and closely held enterprises. Scott also holds an MBA in Information Technology and frequently lectures on topics related to valuation, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Join FuzeHub and partners on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 for an interactive, full-day workshop at SUNY New Paltz. This beginner-focused event is designed to help first-time hardware entrepreneurs and startups avoid common pitfalls and access the right resources to develop and commercialize physical products.

Participants will explore everything from IP strategy and prototype production to marketing, funding, and navigating New York’s robust innovation ecosystem. Attendees will also tour the Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center and enjoy a networking reception with speakers and peers.

Register here: https://fuzehub.com/product-development-fundamentals-event-2025

SEEC and the University at Albany’s Office of Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, and Industry Partnerships are kicking off a yearlong initiative to bring breakthrough technologies out of university labs and incubators and into the community.

Join us for a dynamic event where UAlbany researchers and startup founders will showcase innovative projects and explore collaboration opportunities with public and private sector partners across the Capital Region. Discover how these emerging technologies can be tested, used, or licensed to drive local impact.

Please join CEG and the UAlbany Office of Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, and Industry Partnerships (OEDEIP), as OEDEIP kicks off its yearlong effort to bring technology out of the labs and incubator and into the community for partnerships with Capital Region companies.

Researchers and startup founders are heading into the Capital Region to showcase their technology (detailed below) and discuss how the private and public sector can use, test, and/or license the technology. The technologies could have a wide range of use cases, including in the following industries:

Commercial Real Estate

Industrial/Manufacturing

Education

Healthcare

Local Government

Hospitality/Retail

Utilities

Chemicals

Pharmaceuticals/Biotech

Semiconductors/Electronics

Industrial Wastewater Treatment

Food and Beverage Processing

Pulp and Paper Mills

Environmental Remediation and Engineering

Network Equipment Manufacturers

Defense and Aerospace

Kick off the summer with a Startup Tech Valley happy hour in Troy!

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or just someone with a passion for innovation, this is the perfect chance to:

🍹 Unwind with refreshing beverages and delicious bites

🤝 Network with like-minded professionals and potential collaborators

👋 Engage with the Startup Tech Valley community

Free, RSVPs requested.

What if you could get valuable media exposure for your business without hiring an expensive PR firm?

STEAM Garden is excited to invite you to an exclusive, no-cost workshop that will transform how you approach media relations for your business.

EARNED EXPOSURE: UNLOCKING MEDIA COVERAGE FOR YOUR BUSINESS

 with Howard Schaffer, HSM Founder

In this intimate, interactive session limited to just 25 participants, you'll work directly with media expert Howard Schaffer to develop practical skills for generating powerful media coverage that drives business growth.

This hands-on workshop will cover:

• Creating targeted media strategies for your specific audience

• Crafting compelling stories that journalists actually want to cover

• Navigating professional relationships with reporters and editors

• Leveraging editorial opportunities in your industry

• Building an effective social media presence that amplifies your message

As a startup or small business owner, you understand that positive media coverage can dramatically accelerate your growth—but securing that coverage often feels out of reach. This workshop provides the tools and techniques to change that, with strategies you can implement immediately.

The workshop is offered at no cost, but registration is required and spaces will fill quickly

Startup Tech Valley is a meetup for the entrepreneurship community in the Capital Region. Attendees include entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, mentors, students, employees of startups, service providers to startups, and anyone else who wants to be involved or is curious.

This month, we're partnering with Launchbox Flexible Warehouse Suites in Latham, NY to host our presentations in their space. Launchbox provides individual warehouse and work suites from 150 to 1,000 square feet. For no extra charge, Launchbox members also enjoy access to shared spaces and amenities that combine the advantages of coworking with warehousing to help your business grow.

What to Expect:

Connect + Engage. Start with networking and then get introduced to startups through pitch sessions.

No cost to attend, however RSVP is required

5:30pm Networking | 6:00 - 7:00pm Pitches

If you're interested in pitching, apply now.

Sponsor opportunities are available.

Biotech. Photonics. Climate Tech. Nano. 
Science and engineering founders: are you ready to move from R&D to ROI? 

On May 21 at 12 PM, the UAlbany Innovation Center presents: 
From R&D to ROI: Finding Your First Revenue 

Featuring UAlbany alum Dr. Karen Torrejon, co-founder and CEO of Humonix Biosciences, this virtual event offers real-world advice for founders with lab-born technologies who are ready to build revenue-generating companies. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program Director Kelly Reardon will discuss the mindset shift required to move from grants to revenue, talking about building on the foundation you built using grant funding and provide real-life case studies of companies that successfully transitioned from grant funded to revenue-generating.  

🚀 Ideal for startups in: 

• Life sciences and biotech 

• Advanced manufacturing and semiconductors 

• Photonics and nanotech 

• Clean energy and climate innovation 

✅ Make the leap from grant-funded to market-ready. 

Join RPI’s top innovators as they compete for $50,000 in prizes at the Catalyst Incubator Showcase.

The public is welcome to the Spring 2025 cohort pitch event. Food, beverages and awards following the pitches.

Whether you're fresh off the Upstate Capital Business Plan Competition or just looking for a low-key way to connect with founders, investors, and industry folks—this is the spot.

No RSVP required — just come by! 
Note: Everyone covers their own tab.

Are you a startup founder or entrepreneur looking to secure venture capital?

Join us for an insightful session with Mario Fallone, Partner at Akerman LLP, as he breaks down what venture capitalists seek in an investment. This presentation will cover key investment criteria such as market opportunity, team strength, scalability, and exit strategies. You’ll also gain a clear understanding of VC term sheets, how to evaluate offers, and the importance of choosing the right investor.

Featuring real-world case studies and a live Q&A, this 60-minute session is designed to equip you with the knowledge to navigate the fundraising process with confidence.

 Register today for the Zoom link.